One's view of the origin
and nature of mind is of crucial importance, both for an assessment
of human worth and in the formation of a truly healthy philosophy
of life.
Carefully examining historical outlooks on
mind and brain, the author reviews various explanations which
have been offered for the ascendancy of the mechanistic approach.
He then presents the experimental findings of recent research
which have led some of the most renowned scientists in the field
to conclude that mind is more than matter and more than a mere
by-product of the brain.
Such a conclusion provides a basis for rejecting
the view that man is "nothing but" a machine, without
in any way minimizing how remarkable this machine is.

Whence
Came Mindedness?Animal and human consciousness are viewed in
a continuum to seek an explanation for the mind's origin. Did
mind appear "from nowhere" as a kind of direct creation,
or was it always (but imperceptibly) resident in living systems?

Chapter
Four:

A
Theory Too SmallA survey of dualistic thinking in the twentieth
century, with special reference to the work and thought of Charles
Sherrington, the father of modern understanding of brain function.
The development of the mechnistic approach from a methodology
to a persuasive outlook on all of life is traced.

Chapter
Five:

Laying
the Experimental FoundationsFrom Sherrington to Penfield and his observations
of "relived" memories which were caused by electrode
stimulation of the temporal lobes of fully conscious patients.

Chapter
Six:

The
Return of the Whole PersonA review of the published dialogue between Popper
and Eccles, philosopher and neurophysiologist respectively. By
different routes, both men arrive at a basic belief in interactionism,
although they disagree on the origin and the destiny of mind
or soul.

Epilogue:

Beyond
PhilosophyA consideration of the origin and the destiny
of mind, looking beyond scientific enquiry to biblical revelation
and theology. A centuries-old biblical view is weighed beside
modern views of dualistic interactionism.

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